Imposing Religious Beliefs On Others

A reader writes that he's afraid the gay marriage decision will lead to discrimination against those who oppose gay marriage based on their religious beliefs, and that the First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion [July 5, letter, "Ruling Not 'A Victory For All'"].

But a gay couple who is denied a marriage license from a municipal clerk is not telling the clerk that he or she must marry someone of the same gender; it is the clerk who is telling the gay couple that if either party wants to marry, he or she must marry according to the clerk's belief, and that is to someone of the opposite gender.

The gay couple is not imposing their belief on the clerk, but the clerk is imposing his or her belief on the couple. In other words, the clerk is saying, "My religious belief is right. Yours is wrong."